This invention is an improvement over the plug with snap-fitted housing shells shown in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,698. That plug had corner positioning dowels and flexible longitudinal positioning lands presented by one of two mating housing shells, and had corner dowel receiving holes and undercut matching longitudinal recesses in the other housing shells. As the housing shells were pressed together with the dowels registering with the holes, the lands were intended to flex laterally sufficiently to snap fit into the undercut recesses. However, considerable difficulty was experienced in making injection molds which would result in plastic elements giving proper operation of the snap fitting feature and which would firmly hold the two housing shells together after assembly of the plug. Also, the insulated wire leads for the plug had to have their ends stripped of insulation and connected to contact elements which was time consuming. A further difficulty experienced in electrical plugs having two interfitting housing shells is providing adequate resistance (strain relief) to pulling of the wire leads free of the plug housing.
The present invention aims to overcome these difficulties and to provide an improved plug of unusually simple and economical construction with a minimum of parts which can be quickly assembled without auxiliary fastenings and without need to strip insulation from the wire leads before assembly of the plug.